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CAIR Wins Supreme Court Lawsuit Challenging Federal No Fly List on Behalf of Muslim American Man Tortured then Pressured to be an Informant by the FBI

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S rejoiced the country’s Supreme Court 9-0 ruling which allowed CAIR’S lawsuit to challenge the federal No Fly List on behalf of Yonas Fikre to “move forward over the government’s objection as a ‘historic milestone for Muslims.”

Yonas Fikre is an American Muslim who was reportedly tortured while imprisoned in the UAE, under the orders of the U.S. Fikre was then stuck in Sweden due to his status on the No Fly List, after he vehemently refused to become an informant despite pressure from the FBI. 

The U.S. Government then removed Fikre from the list after CAIR sought to argue that Fikre’s case was “moot in order to avoid the threat of a court ruling declaring the watchlist unconstitutional.”

Initially, the FBI had removed over ten CAIR clients from the No Fly List following lawsuits filed by the civil rights group. 

CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad stated: “CAIR has achieved a major victory at the Supreme Court and a historic milestone for American Muslims, including tens of thousands unjustly targeted by our government. We vow to continue our fight until the FBI’s secret watchlists no longer target our communities and undermine the Constitution. We congratulate our amazing legal team for this achievement, and we thank our supporters for entrusting CAIR to protect their rights.”

CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri then said, “The court’s unanimous decision is a stinging rebuke of the FBI’s long standing practice of avoiding accountability by removing innocent Muslims who challenge their listing in federal court.”

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